Lakshya Sen first Indian man in 21 years to reach final of All England Championships

20-year-old Lakshya Sen ended Lee Ziii Jia's title defence in the men's singles semi-final of All England Open 2022 to become only the 5th Indian shutter to reach the final at the prestigious Super 1000 tournament.

The Almora shuttler is the first Indian man in 21 years to reach the final of the All England Championships. Only 3 Indian men Prakash Nath (1947), Prakash Padukone (1980 and 1981) and Pulle Gopichand (2001) have been there and done that before Lakshya. Only Padukone and Gopichand have won the prestigious title for India in the past. Saina Nehwal reached the final in 2015 only to lose to



Spanish star Carolina Marin.

On Saturday, Lakshya Sen needed an hour and 16 minutes in a show of class and grit to defeat Lee Zii Jia, the defending champion, 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 in the men's singles semi-final.

Lakshya Sen looked in complete control of the first game as his water-tight defence was on display and it frustrated the Malaysian who had a stunning run to the top step of the podium last year. However, the Indian shutter found the pace of Lee daunting in the 2nd game. Lee put pressure on Sen both at the net and from the backcourt and romped to 21-12 victory to force a decider.